Leather-working machine.



w. c. WRIGHT.-

LEATHER WORKING MACHINE APPLICATION FILED NOV. 13, 1915.

, Patented June 20, 1916.-

2 SHEETS4SHEET I- w. c. WRIGHT.

LEATHER WORKING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. I3. I915- 1 1 @9% Patented June 20, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- jwQyzEow: WaZMcg U All] wALLAeE e. WRIGHT, or L NN, MASSACHUSETTS, AssIGNoR To BASLER MACHINERY COMPANY, or LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS, A coEronATIoN or MAINE.

LEATHER-WORKING MACHINE.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WALLACE C. WRIGHT, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Lynn, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement' in Leather-Working Machines, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, 1s a specification, like letters on the drawings re resenting like parts; v

y present invention is an lmproved machine for working, bending, and breaking leather to render the same flexible, and particularly intended for use in connection with the flexing and tempering of leather soles for boots and shoes.

In my copending application, Serial No.

61,316, filed Nov. 13,- 1915, I have described a machine for operating upon leather which renders leather flexible by working the same backwardly and forwardly between sets of rolls during the application of tempering solution thereto.

It is an object of the present invention, however, to provide means which will manipulate or work theleather fiber in a plurality of directions, not merely bending the same backwardly and forwardly across (the normal plane of the leather blank, but

. claim thejsame broadly. Also the feature which will work, bend, and flex the fibers in a plurality of ways and directlon's Also it is an object of the mventlon to apply a plurality of successively increasing,

bending, flexing, working, or breaking movements to the leather fiber, as the same is fed through the breaking .devices of the machine.

A further important feature of the present machine is. to provide means which will enable a selective portion only of the work, such as the forepart of a leather Sole, to be subjected to the flexing or breaking proc-- esses, leaving the shank and heel'part for example, with the fibers unbroken and therefore relatively stiff and unyielding. This is particularly valuable in the manufacture of boots and shoes, as it is desirable to have the forepart of a shoe sole rendered flexible,

while the shank part, or shank and heel portions, 'are usually desired to'be rigid. This feature of apartial flexing action is a distinct novelty in this 'artand I wish to Specification of Letters Patent. P w -t J n 2 1 1, 5

App1ica.tion filed November 13, 1915. Serial No. 61,317. i

of working the leather fiber in a variety or multiplicity of directions to bend same, is a distinctly novel feature in the leather working art, so far as I am aware, and I believe that I am entitled to claim the same broadly.

A further important feature of the present invention is that means are provided which will feed a sole blank through the machine, said feeding means being independent of the flexing apparatus, thus enabling a greater range of bending, flexing, or breaking devices to be applied to the leather than would otherwise be possible with any apparatus heretofore known. In the preferred embodiment of the invention herein illus trated I utilize the separate feeding instrumentalities to also aid in preventing the desired portion of the leather from being acted upon by the bending devices, preferably, therefore,-holding the Shank'and heel portion of a sole in said independent feeding means while the forepart is being acted upon by the breaking or flexing devices. Ihus I amenabled to insure a partial bending of any portion of a leather article such as a sole blank, and also to determine which In the machine illustrated in the accompanying drawings I carry out the foregoing features by providing a series of breaking and flexing rolls adapted to be operated in a tank of tempering solution, while the leather feeding devices are above such flexing rolls and adapted to receive, hold, and feed the leather by the upper portion around through the flexing rolls and tempering tank. Such flexing rolls may be of a plurality of different forms,such as a combination of transversely bending, longitudinally bending, spirally formed, corrugated, or other shapes and forms, and may, if desired, be arranged to act progressively and increasingly upon the fibers of the material' being operated upon.

Other features of the invention, novel combination of parts, and details of construction will be hereinafter further pointed 2 is -a view partly in cross section of the ma l l l chine shown in Fig. 1; Fig. is a detailed .to that shown in my copending application,

Serial No. 61,316, filed November 13, 1915, in so far as the combination of a support or stand 1 and an inclosing tank 2 is concerned.-

The supporting frame is approximately round and the tank 2 is of similar form, being adjustably held to the top rim or flange 3 of the frame 1 by a plurality of hoisting screws 4, here shown as three, such "screws spaced equidistantly about the periphery of the top flange 3. Said hoisting screws are threaded through correspondingly tapped bosses 5 in the tank 2,.and maybe manipulated by hand wheels 6 to raise and lower the same, or by a sprocket chain working all three screws simultaneously, as illustrated in said copending application. I

In the present type .of machine I prefer to form the feeding and flexing rolls with their axes substantially vertical, and therefore to provide supporting frames arranged horizontally, the top frame 7 being held by bolts 8 passing through short lugs 9 extending inwardly from the flange 3. This supporting frame 7 being of substantially U-shaped formation with a central portion 10 substantially round and with its periphery 11 spaced from the inner edge 12 of the 'U-shap'ed frame. 7, so as to leave a slot 13,

entirely round, between the two top sections 7 and 10 of the frame. This slot is to per- 1 'mit the sole blanks to extend upwardly beyond the length of the flexing rolls, which rolls have their upper ends journaled in.

hearings in the top plates 7 and 10, as will a be described. The lower frame 14 is round and of similar diameterto that of the top portion 7, being supported by and held to the top portion 7 by a series of struts 15, which struts are secured by bolts 16 to the frame 7 and by similar bolts 17 to the lower frame 14 at a plurality of equidistant points. The inner top frame 7 is also united to the bottom frame 14 by similar struts 17 and bolts 18, the central frame 10 thus being supported by the lower plate 14, which latter plate has no provision for a slot 13 as is ecessary in the upper portion. Thus the frame 7 is held by the flange 3, which frame in turn holds the bottom frame 14 and the central portion 10 ofthe top frame is supported upon the bottom frame by the strut 17. As thus arranged, the inner top frame 10 and also frame 14 provide fixed journal bearings for a series of inner rolls, while the corresponding cooperating outer series of rolls are supported in sliding journal boxes positioned in slots in the top frame 7 thicknesses and insure a substantially equal tension upon all articles coming through the rolls. These flexing and bending rolls are of various forms and contours and are positively driven by a train of gears, which rolls will operate upon leather blanks successively to work, bend, and break up the 'fibers of the leather in a variety of ways to afford the yielding movement necessary with each pair of rolls, I provide slots 19 in the top frame 7 and corresponding opposite portion of the lower rim 14, in which sliding journal boxes 20 are positioned to receive the axles of the rolls, a coiled spring 21 bearing upon the slides between such slide and adjustable nut 22, said nut being held in position by a screw 23 threaded through a lug 24, as clearly illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2. All the outer rolls are similarly mounted, and therefore a detailed description of. each yielding bearing will not be necessary. Said slides and yielding bear ings are preferably cut radially with respect to the center of the entire machine, so that the yield of an outer roll will be in a direction diametrically with its cooperating inner roll. I prefer to arrange the first pair of rolls 25 and 26 as feed members as well as the end rolls 27 and 28, and to rolls may be concave and convex to work the.

fiber of the leather transversely, baokwardly and forwardly; or the rollers may be corrugated, spirally grooved, or lotherwise formed. A's herein shown the first pair of flexing rolls 29 and 30 re of cooperating concave and convex forfi respectively, as more clearly shown in Fig. 4. The adjacent pair offlexing rolls 31 and 32 may be corrugated, as best illustrated in Fig. 2. The next adjacent rolls may have the series of corrugations formed in different contours, or of increasingly greater extent, and a still further set of rolls 33 and 34 may be spirally formed, as shown in Fig. 5. I may also interpose a straightening pair of rolls 35 and 36 between the corrugated group or pair and spiral group or pair. This grouping of different types and sets of flexing means gives to the fiber a very thorough, complete, and uniform loosening, without injuring such fiber, the tension of the springs on the sliding boxes on each of the outer pairs of rolls being adjustable to secure the best degree of tension upon the particular line of leather going through the machine.

an increasing working stretch or tension is applied to the fibers successively, rather than having a high tension applied at one application, the latter being apt to injure some fibers.

The working or meeting faces of each set of rolls is directly under the slot 13 between the outer and inner parts of the top and I provide separate feeding means to engage that part of the blank which it is desired shall not be flexed and which extends upwardly beyond the top frame and is firmly held and carried or fed through the machine. This latter feature is of particular importance, and the mechanism to carry out the same will now be described.

Mounted in suitable bearings in the frames 10 and 14 is the central shaft 40 carrying a pulley 41 near its upper end immediately above the top frame 10 and a gear wheel 42 at its lowermost end, which gear and pulley are of the same diameter. The gear 42 is utilized to operate the chain of gears 43 which are meshed therewith, and positively rotate the outer series of rolls and in turn mesh with the chain of gears 44 rotating the inner series of rolls in their fixed bearings. These outer gears 43 are preferably of su cient width to engage the main driving wheel 42 and also the gears 44, as illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3, and the slight yield of the sliding boxes 20 on which the outer rolls and gears 43 are secured, is insuflicient to render the teeth of the gears 43 out of mesh with the gears 42 and 44 rotating in their fixed bearin'gs. An endless feed belt 45 is adapted to encircle the pulley 41 and is led around guide pulleys 46 and 47 near the ends of the arms of the U-shaped frame 7, which pulleys are mounted in said frame, as illustrated in Fig. 1, and thence around a turning pulley 48 mounted in a lug 49 in the frame 3 at the front or feeding-in and delivery end of the machine. This arrangement enables a sole blank to be fed in to the machine at the throat 50, being positioned downwardly so that the shank or heel portion will be engaged between the belt 45 and the surface of the feeding wheel 41 and thence be carried around through the machine with its loweror fore-part in position to be acted upon by the series of flexing rolls. Such a blank 51 is illustrated in Fig. 2. lit will be readily understood that any desired extent of such a blank 51 may be left within the radius of operation of the flexing rolls, and therefore subject to the working, bending, and fiber loosening action of the flexing rolls, or any desired amount may be kept above the action of such rolls and held firmly and smoothly in the grip between the belt 45 and pulley 41. I also provide an automatic frame, I

ejecting device, comprising a conical roll 52, cooperating feed roll '53, endless belt 54,

and guide roll 55, as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Power to drive this ejecting apparatus may be conveniently taken from the guide roller 47, a pair of miter gears 56'and 57 carried by the axles of the rollers 47 and s 53- respectively, actuating the said ejector belt and imparting rotary movement thereto. A sprocket wheel on the opposite end of the axle of the roller 53 and the miter gear 57 is connected to a smaller sprocket on. the axle of the roller 52 by a sprocket chain 58 so that both the rolls 52 and 53 and the belt 54 are positively actuated in a position to seize the projecting shank portion of a blank 51 and pull at the same, as the said blank is released from the grip of the belt 45 and pulley 41 as said belt is deflected around the idler 47. Power to rotate the central shaft 40 may be received in any desired manner, that herein shown comprising a miter gear 60 on the upper end of the shaft which meshes with a pinion 61 on a shaft 62 fixed in bearings 63 carried on a bracket 64 secured to the top plate 7 by bolts 65, said shaft 62 also carrying a drive pulley 66 around which a belt 67 is led from any suitable source of power. I prefer to arrange a guard or cover 68 over the ejecting apparatus and also fit the tank with a draining valve 69, as illustrated in Fig. 2.

The operation of my present machine will be readily understood from the foregoing gaged and held by the pair of belts 41 and 45. At the moment of feeding in of such blank, the extent to which the leather shall be subjected to the flexing and tempering means is determined by the dep-th'to which the blank 51 is lowered. This may be determined by the will of the operator by simply lowering the blank until the shank is engaged by the pair of feeding belts, or by any suitable gage such as a mark on the blank, or a stop or recess on' the machine under the throat 50. The blank thus grasped by the feeding devices is then conducted to the first-pair of rolls 25 and 26, it having the lower portion immersed in the tempering liquid. Thence it may come to the second pair of rolls 29 and 30 to receive the transverse break, and so on through the machine, being acted on successively by the spiral rolls 33 and 34, corrugated rolls, .and other concave and convex rolls 35 and 36, until it reaches the final straight pair of rolls 27 and 28 which smooth out the worked fiber in the blank and enablethe same to be delivered to the ejecting apparatus in practically a smoothened state. If desired, also, the tank containing the tempering solution may be adjusted to regulate the height of the tempering liquid, permitting said liquid, for example, just to temper the foreor toepart, while the flexing devices act on the entire forepart from the shank onwardly. The same result may be obtained by lowering the level of liquid in the tank, but it is generally desirable to supply tempering to the entire portion of the blank which is to be subjected to the fiber working devices.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A machine of the class described, comprising leather'flexing devices, and separate feeding mechanism to conduct a leather blank to a plurality of said flexing devices.

2. A machine of the class described, comprisingleather flexing devices, and means to subject a predetermined portion only of a leather blank to said flexing devices.

3. A machine of the class described, comprising leather flexing devices, and adjustable means to subject a predetermined portion only of a leather blank to said flexing devices.

4. A machine of the class described, comprising leather flexing devices, and feeding means to subject a predetermined portion only of a leather blank to said flexing devices.

5. A machine of the class described, comprising leather flexing devices, liquid supplying means, and feeding means to subject a predetermined portion only 'of a leather blank to said flexing and liquid applying devices.

6. A machine of the class described, comprising leather flexingdevices, and separate feeding mechanism to conduct a leather blank to a plurality of said flexing devices, in combination with means to actuate the blank-engaging portions of the flexing devices at substantially the same peripheral speed as that of the blank feeding mechamsm. a

7. A machine of the class described, having means to work leather fiber in a plurality of undulating directions.

8. A machine of the class described, having a plurality of different leather working means arranged to operate on a leather blank successively.

9. A machine of the class described, having means to work a predetermined portion of a leather blank in a plurality of undulating directions.

10. A machine of the class described, having a plurality of different leather Working means arranged to operate on a predetermined portion of a leather blank successively.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WALLACE o. WRIGHT. 

